The invention relates to a card reader, into which a data-storage card can be inserted for information exchange, with a card guide guiding the card approximately horizontally into its data exchange position. This card guide is interrupted downwards in a section in the direction of insertion. The length of the section is shorter than the normal card length. Beneath the interrupted section a drop opening is provided for cards with a shorter length than normal cards. In the data exchange position the front end of the card rests against a support of the card reader.
Card readers of this kind are already known.
The length of cards, which carry an integrated circuit (chip cards) or a magnetic strip (strip cards), is standardised, and hence the card readers are designed for this xe2x80x9cnormalxe2x80x9d card length only. In order to avoid a shorter card getting stuck in the card reader and hence blocking the insertion of another card or interfering with the data exchange of another card, the card guide of the known card readers is interrupted, such that a card which is too short falls through a drop opening in the bottom of the card reader downwards out of the card reader. A card of normal length runs in direction of insertion onto a bar-shaped support after the interrupted guide or after the drop opening, which support is formed by the free end of a projecting part protruding from the back side of the card reader housing counter the direction of insertion. This support guides the front end of the card into the data exchange position and at the same time forms a thrust bearing if in the data exchange position a read unit is lowered onto the upper side of the card.
Although the free end of the projecting part is formed with a stopping slope leading the inserted card into the data exchange position, there is danger even with cards of normal length, of not running onto the support, if their surfacexe2x80x94for example due to wrong storagexe2x80x94is strongly bent downwards in longitudinal direction, but of being inserted beneath the support in a free space of the card reader, such that they xe2x80x9cdisappearxe2x80x9d in the card reader, non-retrievable by the user.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to improve a card reader of the aforementioned type such that even with cards having a surface strongly bent downwards in longitudinal direction a reliable insertion up to the data exchange position can be assured.
This object is solved according to the invention in that a stopping segment extends from the support counter the direction of insertion to beneath the interrupted section of the card guide.
When inserting a card being strongly bent downwards, its front end runs in direction of insertion onto the stopping segment and is guided further and upwards onto the support by the stopping segment. The further the stopping segment extends into the region of the interrupted section or the drop opening, the more strongly the front end of the card can be bent downwards. However, the stopping segment may only extend thus far into the region of the interrupted section or drop opening, that dropping downwards out of the drop opening of a card which is too short is not impeded.
In particularly preferred embodiments of the invention, the stopping surface of the stopping segment is inclined downwards counter the direction of insertion. This has the essential advantage, that a card which is too short drops out of the card reader by tipping downwards.
Preferably, the support is formed by the free end of a projecting part extending from the back side of the card reader counter the direction of insertion.
A particularly small overall height of the card reader can be obtained in spite of the stopping segment, if the stopping segment is connected at one end with the support disposed approximately in the centre and at the other end with a side wall of the card reader.
A stopping segment can be provided on both sides of the support for improving the guiding of a strongly bent card.
The stopping segment can either be produced together with the housing of the card reader as a one-piece injection moulded part or can be a separate part. The latter makes possible a particularly cheap retrofitting of common card readers with stopping segments.
Additional advantages of the invention can be gathered from the description and the drawing. Also, the previously mentioned and the following characteristics can be used according to the invention each individually or collectively in any combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be taken as a conclusive enumeration, but have exemplary character for the description of the invention.